


The Meeting

by Ailelie, Cinaed



Series: Enduring Legends [15]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Gen, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, No season 4 spoilers, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-11
Updated: 2011-12-11
Packaged: 2017-10-27 05:59:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/292386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ailelie/pseuds/Ailelie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinaed/pseuds/Cinaed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Sunday, December 11 2011</i></p><p>In which Arthur helps a random stranger move into an apartment, and finally meets Gwen.</p><p>(Arthur/Gwen)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Meeting

_Sunday, December 11, 2011_

Arthur was rethinking his plan to wander the city for the afternoon. For one thing, it was freezing. For another, he might have turned left when he should have turned right approximately three blocks back and now he wasn’t exactly certain where he was.

He scowled down at his cell phone, wondering if he should try to pull up where he was on Google Maps and figure out a way home. This was all Ambrose’s fault, somehow, he thought. Usually Arthur would have been at Ambrose or Gavin’s places on a Sunday afternoon, but the former had mumbled something about getting his place in order for David’s visit, and the latter had grinned and said something about already having plans to freeload elsewhere.

Arthur paused to lean against a brick wall, frowning at his cell for another moment. He thumbed down his list of apps, and paused at the sound of someone cursing in frustration. He looked up in time to watch a man about his age nearly stagger off the sidewalk into the street.

The man barely caught himself in time, glaring down at the box in his arms like it’d betrayed him somehow. He was apparently moving into the nearby apartment building, judging by an open car stuffed with cardboard boxes and what looked like a laptop in its case and a lamp.

“Need some help?” Arthur found himself asking. He could practically hear Ambrose’s voice commenting in exaggerated shock about his Good Samaritan act even as the man turned to him in obvious surprise.

The other man gave him a long look, his eyes flicking over Arthur’s frame. Apparently taking Arthur’s expensive clothes as a sign that he wasn’t in fact a robber, the man relaxed a little. “It’s okay, really,” he said. “I’ve got a couple friends coming in a half-hour when the actual U-haul is arriving. I just thought I’d get a head start on moving in.” He made a face. “Apparently not one of my best ideas.”

“You’ll want to at least take your computer up if you wait for your friends,” Arthur said. This wasn’t a particularly bad part of the city, but it wasn’t the best either. Leaving a laptop in a car was asking for it to be stolen.

The man set his box back into the trunk of his card and winced, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Probably a good idea,” he said, and extended his hand. “I’m Elliot.”

“Arthur,” Arthur said, accepting his hand. “Are you sure you don’t need any help? I’ve honestly got nothing to do today. Might as well be productive somehow. And I can always leave once your friends get here.”

Elliot shrugged. “Sure, as long as you don’t expect to get paid.” He grinned. “Then again, if you want some form of payment, I’ve got plenty of cookies. My mother forced about three tins of them on me when I went home for a visit.”

As if on cue, Arthur’s stomach rumbled.

Elliot laughed. “I’m taking that as a yes. C’mon, grab the box labeled Photo Albums and I’ll show you the place.” He slung the strap of his laptop bag over one shoulder and then picked up a box himself. Apparently this wasn’t the heavy one that had nearly defeated him, because he hefted it into his arms with barely any exertion.

“Your mom makes a lot of cookies,” Arthur commented. “Not that I’m complaining, but most mothers would tell their sons to eat healthier, not shove cookies at them.” His mother hadn’t baked often, he remembered; she’d prefer to cook when his father wasn’t home and she could convince the cook to let her play around in the kitchen.

Elliot laughed again. “Well, my mom can’t cook to save her life, so I think she overcompensates by baking.”

Elliot’s apartment was small and sparse. Apparently Elliot was bringing in all of his own furniture. Looking around, Arthur wondered if Elliot would even be able to fit everything inside.

“Just set everything next to the wall by the door,” Elliot said. “The movers are going to bring in the heavier stuff, so I figured I could just pile boxes in this corner for the time being and then rearrange stuff once all the big pieces of furniture are in place.”

“Good idea,” Arthur said. He set the box down. As soon as he did, the smell of cinnamon reached him. He inhaled deeply for a moment, mouth watering a little at the delicious scent. Then a thought struck him and he raised an eyebrow. “You brought your mom’s cookies up first? Before your laptop?”

Elliot shrugged. “My mom’s cookies are just that amazing.” Apparently Arthur’s face conveyed his disbelief because Elliot grinned and gestured towards what Arthur suspected was the kitchen. “Go ahead, try one.”

“Okay,” Arthur said. He inwardly laughed, imagining Ambrose’s expression when Arthur told him how he’d missed out on supposedly delicious cookies. He opened the tin, blinking a little--he hadn’t realized you could put so many cookies into one tin--and took one of the larger ones.

“She even has a secret ingredient she adds to her snickerdoodles,” Elliot said as Arthur raised the cookie to his lips and took a big bite.

It was delicious. And also familiar-- he’d had this snickerdoodle before.

Arthur nearly choked. “Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me,” he said through a spray of cookie crumbs. He closed his eyes and counted to ten. Then he paused and counted to ten again. Still, there was no way Ambrose would be bored enough to ask a random stranger that Arthur _might_ happen to stumble upon to play along in this Gwen Smith game.

“So,” he said a little wearily, “how do you know Gwen Smith?”

When he turned, Elliot was staring at him. “You know Gwen?” he asked, and laughed. “Small world! I move to the city, and the first person I talk to knows--”

Someone knocked on the door. “Elliot!” a woman’s voice called, and Arthur’s throat unaccountably tightened. Was this the Gwen apparently _everyone_ knew? Judging by the way Elliot’s face lit up and he sprang to the door, it was.

“Gwen!” Elliot said, opening the door wide. “You’re early! And you brought a friend.” There was a curious, amused note in his voice.

Gwen laughed. Her voice carried into the room, equally amused. “He’s a friend, not a _friend_ , so don’t even start. I just made the mistake of mentioning you as the guy whose mother bakes all those amazing cookies. Gavin decided he’d ‘help.’”

“Well, nice to meet you, Gavin. Gavin, Gwen, this is--”

“Arthur?” Gavin squinted at him as though his eyes were playing tricks on him. “How do you know Elliot?”

“We just met,” Arthur said, but his attention was focused on the woman who was standing next to Elliot and staring at Arthur as though she’d seen a ghost. She was beautiful, despite the stunned look in her dark eyes and the way her face had turned an ashy brown.

“Gwen?” Elliot asked, frowning and touching her elbow.

Gwen jumped as though he’d grabbed her. She blinked hard for a moment, wearing much the look of awe that Anna had the night before with the candles. Then she shook his head and attempted a weak smile. “I’m fine,” she said. There was only the slightest trace of a hitch to her voice. “Just took the stairs too fast, I think.”

Arthur stepped forward, extending the tin to her. “Maybe you need something to eat,” he said.

Her smile was less forced, though still a little tremulous around the edges. Her eyes met his, filled with some unknown emotion that made Arthur’s stomach twist; she seemed to be searching for something in his face.

After a moment though, she let out a quick breath, the strange look in her eyes replaced by something very much like resignation, and said, “Thank you. That’ll probably do the trick.” She took one of the snickerdoodles and then turned away, squaring her shoulders. “Elliot, you do realize now that you’re living in the big city, you need to remember to lock your car doors when you leave your car on the curb, right?”

“So how did you meet Elliot again?” Gavin asked sotto voce. “You can’t have just met.”

Arthur, watching Gwen roll her eyes and smack Elliot lightly upside the head, shrugged a little helplessly.

“Small world,” Gavin said with a shrug of his own, and then snaked a snickerdoodle from the tin. He took a bite, his eyes widening. “Holy shit, these are delicious. Elliot, have I mentioned how glad I am that you’ve decided to live here?”

Elliot exchanged an amused look with Gwen; apparently she’d warned him about Gavin, because Elliot responded dryly, “I’m hurt. You only love me for my cookies.”

“Damn straight,” Gavin said, stealing the entire tin from Arthur’s unresisting hands. “Though I’m sure you’re a good guy,” he added through a mouthful of snickerdoodle as Gwen made a face at him. “Gwen’s best friend has to be great.”

“Thanks,” Elliot said as Arthur fished out his cell phone.

 _Finally met your Gwen_ , he texted Ambrose, trying to ignore the unaccountable feeling that he’d disappointed Gwen within the first two minutes of meeting her.

A second later, his phone beeped.

 _What?? how?_

 _Met Elliot, then met Gwen_ , he typed, one eye on his cell, the other on the color gradually returning to Gwen’s face as she rested her head briefly on Elliot’s shoulder and accepted a snickerdoodle from Gavin.

 _What do you think of her?_ Ambrose asked.

Arthur shook his head. _I have no idea_. He looked up from his phone. “Well, uh, looks like your friends are here, so I’ll get going,” he said. Curiosity was a tight knot in his stomach, but he ignored it. He could grill Gavin about her later. Besides, he’d already told Elliot he’d stick around until his friends got there; sticking around now would probably be considered odd.

Elliot shook his head. “You don’t have to go,” he said. “I mean, you seem to know Gwen and Gavin--”

“I don’t know him,” Gwen said quickly, overlapped by Arthur’s too-loud, “I don’t know her!” They stared at each other again before Gwen cleared her throat and added, “We’ve never met.”

“Which is weird when you think about it,” Gavin said cheerfully. Thankfully he’d swallowed his latest cookie this time, so no one was sprayed with crumbs.  

“Weird?” Gwen echoed sharply, frowning. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you remember that photo Ambrose sent you of his birthday party?” When Gwen slowly nodded, Gavin jerked a thumb at Arthur. “He was the one behind the camera. He’s Ambrose’s best friend. And he’s been friends with me for a while, and Elle for apparently forever.”

Gwen turned to stare at him again with wide eyes. “You’re _Ambrose_ ’s Arthur?” she said.

“I’m not Ambrose’s Arthur. I’m just Arthur, who happens to be friends with Ambrose,” Arthur said. He could feel his face getting warm as Gwen continued to stare. “And, uh, I think you actually know my cousin as well. Anna Isle? You might’ve known her as Anna North.”

Gwen let out a strangled sound that could’ve been a laugh, and shook her head. “You even know both of my ex-roommates,” she said, marveling “How do you know both my ex-roommates?”

“Elle and I went to--” Arthur began to explain, when Elliot interrupted him.

“Wait, how many people do you both know?” Elliot asked, glancing between them. “Is this some sort of weird reverse of seven degrees of Kevin Bacon?”

Gavin laughed. “I like that. Seven degrees of Gwen.” He glanced between Arthur and Gwen and finally seemed to notice the tension in the air. “So, seven degrees of Gwen, let’s play that another time,” he said hastily. “Who likes sports?”

“ _Sports_ is a little vague,” Elliot said with a chuckle. “I prefer basketball, personally.”

Gavin grinned like the cat who’d just caught the canary. “Basketball? Well, if you’re up for a game, me, Arthur, and a couple of guys who volunteer at the same shelter I do are playing a friendly game on Friday. We’d be glad to have another player.”

“Really?” Elliot said, looking intrigued. “I haven’t had a chance to play in a while.”

Gavin clapped him on the back. “Then consider yourself invited. Right, Arthur?”

“Right.” Arthur cleared his throat. “Will, uh, will you be there as well?” he asked Gwen.

“Well, Ambrose and Gavin have tried to drag me along before, but basketball’s not really my thing. Still, if Elliot’s going, he’ll want a cheering squad,” Gwen said a little dryly, startling a laugh out of Arthur. Ambrose hadn’t mentioned her sense of humor.

“I guess I’ll see you there,” Arthur said. She smiled, and Arthur found himself smiling back and hoping she’d keep looking at him. Ambrose definitely hadn’t mentioned how pretty she was.  

“I guess you will,” she said.  

“Well, let’s get those boxes out of your car,” Gavin said. He stepped past Arthur to set the cookie tin away, flashing him a knowing grin that Arthur didn’t trust at all. “And yeah, you should really lock your car, Elliot. Getting stuff stolen is not the best way to break in a new apartment.”

“Okay, okay,” Elliot said, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m going. There’s a box that might need the both of us to lift it, though.”

“Sure thing,” Gavin said. This time he nudged Arthur with his elbow as he walked past. “Hey, Arthur, less flirting, more helping Elliot with the boxes.”

“More helping? You were only here for the cookies!” Arthur protested.

“So no argument on the flirting then?” Gavin drawled.

“What? Shut up,” Arthur said, feeling heat creep back into his face.  

Gwen laughed, the sound bright and sudden, and Arthur found himself staring again. Yeah, there were definitely things Ambrose had neglected to mention. 

**Author's Note:**

> This part was written by Cinaed, and beta-read by Ailelie.
> 
> If you have any suggestions on what any of the characters' favorite carol would be, let us know! We'll be incorporating some carols into the story later on. :)


End file.
